Protective covering



March 1958 H. BLASZKOWSKI ETAL 2,826,523

PROTECTIVE COVERING Filed July 26, 1954 INVENTORS #2717? iiasziawsjz'}KZ/T'JIJ rroPMB/s PROTECTIVE COVERING Henry Blaszkowski and Richard A.Papke, Dearborn, Mich.

Application July 26, 1954, Serial No. 445,322

4 Claims. (Cl. 154--50) This invention relates to protective coveringsand, more particularly, to an improved protective covering particularlyadapted to roll upon itself automatically.

An object of the invention is to overcome disadvantages in priorprotective coverings and to provide an improved protective coveringincorporating improved means for automatically rolling the covering.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved protectivecovering incorporating improved means for protecting articles coveredthereby.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved self-rollingprotective covering incorporating improved means for removing ice andsnow therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved self-rollingprotective covering which may be easily and quickly applied to anarticle with a minimum of time and labor so as to protect such articleagainst shock, vibration and other forces imparted thereto.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improvedself-rolling protective covering that is economical to manufacture andassemble, durable and reliable in operation.

In the accomplishment of these objects, the present invention provides aprotective covering which is comprised of a laminated sheet having aplurality of layers, at least one of the layers being resilient andbeing prestressed before it is bonded to the adjacent layer or layerswhereby the sheet will roll upon itself tightly and automatically. Thepresent invention also provides a chamber intermediate the layers of thelaminated sheet whereby a fluid may be injected into and exhausted fromthe chamber to expand and contract the sheet to remove ice and snowtherefrom.

The above as well as other objects and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description, theappended claims and the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a protective covering embodying thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the covering illustrated in Fig. 1, showing thesame in the unrolled position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the covering illustrated inFig. 2, taken on the line 3-3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a protective covering constructed in accordancewith another form of the invention, and showing the same in the unrolledposition;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the covering illustrated inFig. 4, taken on the line 5-5 thereof;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of another form of the invention;and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of still another form of theinvention.

Referring to the drawing, one embodiment of the invention is illustratedin Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and is comprised of a laminated sheet, generallydesignated 10, having a layer 12 and a layer 14 each formed of aresilient material, as for example rubber. In the assembly of thisembodiment of the invention, the layer 14 is held in a flat,

ite States Patent 0 ice relatively unstressed position. The layer 12 isthen stretched and placed under tension so that the layer 12 isprestressed relative to the layer 14. The layers 12 and 14 are thenbonded together by any suitable or conventional means, as for examplewith a bonding agent 16 or by vulcanizing, while maintaining the layer14 in a relatively dormant, flat position and the layer 12 in theprestressed condition relative to the dormant layer. With such aconstruction, when the sheet 10 is released, it will automatically rollupon itself tightly and automatically to the position shown in Fig. l.

The sheet 10 is adapted to a wide variety of applications. For example,the sheet 10 may be employed as a self-rolling tarpaulin or covering.The sheet 10 may also be formed in any desired size and quickly appliedto relatively fragile articles, as for example bottles, by permittingthe sheet to roll around the article. It has been found that when thesheet 10 is employed in such a manner, the sheet will securely grip thearticle and substantially prevent relative movement between the sheetand the article, thereby maintaining the article in the protectedposition relative to the sheet. if desired, the sheet 10 may be formedin elongated strips and the strips bonded in spaced, substantiallyparallel relationship to flexible sheets of paper or the like. Forexample, the strips may be bonded to blueprints or maps, and the stripswill cause such blueprints or maps to roll automatically when releasedfrom a relatively flat position. Other applications of the sheet 10 willbe readily apparent.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated j in Figs. 4 and 5,and is comprised of a laminated sheet 18 having a layer 20 and a layer22 each formed of a resilient material, as for example rubber. In theassembly of this embodiment of the invention, the layer 22 is held in aflat relatively unstressed or dormant position. The layer 20 is thenstretched so that the layer 20 is placed under tension and isprestressed relative to the layer 22 after which the peripheral portions24 of the layers are bonded together by any suitable or conventionalmeans, as for example, by a bonding agent or by vulcanizing, whilemaintaining the layer 22 in a relatively dormant condition and the layer20 in the prestressed condition. When the layers 20 and 22 are sobonded, they define a chamber 26 and an inlet opening 28 is providedthrough which a fluid, as for example air, may be injected into andexhausted from the chamber 26. With such a construction when the sheet18 is released, it will roll upon itself tightly and automatically inthe manner previously described. In addition, ice and snow would beeasily and quickly removed from the sheet 18 by alternately injecting afluid into the chamber 25 through the opening 28 and exhausting thefluid from the chamber 26 so as to expand and contract the centralportions of the layers 20 and 22, thereby breaking the ice or snow fromthe sheet 18. Furthermore, the sheet 18 may be quickly applied torelatively fragile articles, as for example bottles, by applying thesheet 18 to the article so that it rolls itself upon the article afterwhich air or other fluid may be injected into the chamber 26 so as toprovide a resilient cushion around the article which serves to protectthe article against impact, shock and other forces imparted thereto.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 6, and iscomposed of a sheet 3t having layers 32, 34 and 36 each formed of aresilient material, as for example rubber. In the assembly of thisembodiment of the invention, the layer 36 is held flat in a relativelyunstressed or dormant position and the layer 34 is then placed undertension so that the layer 34 is prestressed relative to the layer 36after which the peripheral portions of the layers 34 and 36 are bondedtogether while maintaining the layer E 34 in a prestressed condition andthe layer 36 in a relatively dormant condition. The layers 34 and 36then define a chamber 38 into which air or other fluid may be injectedin the manner previously described. After the layers 34 and .36 havebeen bonded, the layer 32 is placed under sufficient tension so that thelayer '32 is prestressed relative to the layer 34 as Well as the layer'36 and bonded to the layer 34 in the manner previously described. Ithas been found that with such a construction, the sheet 30 will rollupon itself very rapidly With a snap action and it has been found thatby successively applying additional layers each of which are prestressedrelative to the adjacent layer, any desired rolling action may beobtained. The sheet30 may be conveniently employed in the mannerpreviously described.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 7 and iscomprised of a sheet 40 having a layer 42 and a layer 44. In thisembodiment of the invention, the layer 42 is formed of a relativelynon-elastic material, as for example, a fabric, While the layer 44 isformed of a resilient material, as for example rubber. In thisembodiment of the invention, the layer 42 is held in a relatively fiatposition and the layer 44 is placed under tension so that it isprestressed relative to the layer 42 after which the layer 44 is bondedto the layer 42., as by a bonding agent 46. Such a construction providesa protective covering having all the desired characteristics of a fabricprotective covering and, in addition, provides a protective coveringwhich is adapted to roll upon itself tightly and automatically when theperipheral portion of the sheet 40 is released. While preferredembodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will beunderstood that various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

aeaasaa 4 What is claimed is: 1. A protective covering comprising alaminated flexible sheet formed of a plurality of layers all of whichare pliable, at least one of said pliable layers being formed of anelastic resilient material, said resilient layer being elasticallyprestressed Within its elastic limit relative to the adjacent layer andbonded to one side of the adjacent layer.

2. A protective covering comprising, in combination, a laminatedflexible sheet having a pair of layers, each formed of a pliablematerial and disposed in back to back relationship, one of said layersbeing formed of an elastic material, said one layer being elasticallyprestressed within its elastic limit relative to the other of saidlayers and bonded to said other layer.

3. A pliable protective covering including, in combination, a pair oflayers each formed of a flexible elastic material, one of said layersbein elastically prestressed within its elastic limit relative to theother of said layers and bonded to one side of said other layer to forma laminated sheet.

4. A flexible protective covering comprising a pair of layers, one ofsaid layers being formed of a relatively flexible pliable material, theother of said layers being formed of an elastic resilient and pliablematerial, said one layer being prestressed relative to said other layerand being bonded to said other layer to form a pliable laminated sheetadapted to roll upon itself automatically.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,211,706 Hoerbelt Ian. 9, 1917 2,305,853 Eger et a1. Dec. 22, 19422,335,190 Minich Nov. 23, 1943 2,490,946 Cloud Dec. 13, 1949

1. A PROCTECTIVE COVERING COMPRISING A LAMINATED FLEXIBLE SHEET FORMED OF A PLURALITY OF LAYERS ALL OF WHICH ARE PLIABLE, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PLIABLE LAYERS BEING FORMED OF AN ELASTIC RESILIENT MATERIAL, SAID RESILIENT LAYER BEING ELASTICALLY PRESTRESSED WITHIN ITS ELASTIC LIMIT RELATIVE TO THE ADJACENT LAYER AND BONDED TO ONE SIDE OF THE ADJACENT LAYER. 